‘Reviving Sanhedrin may help bridge gaps with Diaspora’
IDC scholars suggest system based on council of Jewish jurists could improve discourse between Jews in Israel and those around the world.
Powerful forces are tearing the Jewish world asunder, many observers warn. Some say the root cause is Israel’s alleged increasingly illiberal policies, others point toward assimilation or a weakening sense of Jewish identity in the Diaspora.
Either way, almost everyone agrees there is a problem. What, then, can prevent Israel and the Diaspora from drifting apart? One creative proposal tabled at the Herzliya Conference on Monday suggests resurrecting an ancient Jewish body that hasn’t met, at least in a universally recognized form, in more than 1,600 years.
Either this idea is just crazy enough to work, or it’s just crazy.